Sindh’s Mirpurkhas district is rapidly emerging as “another Larkana” in terms of rising human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) cases among children, with 150 children testing positive for the virus in 2024 alone, official data revealed on Tuesday.
The district now accounts for over 26% of the 568 paediatric HIV cases reported in Sindh last year, raising concerns over an escalating health crisis in the region as on average 48 children were testing positive for HIV every month in the province.
According to the latest figures compiled by Sindh’s health authorities, a total of 568 children were diagnosed with HIV across the province in 2024, including 78 boys and 72 girls from Mirpurkhas alone.
Other districts with high paediatric HIV cases include Larkana, where 52 boys and 35 girls tested positive, Shikarpur (27 boys and 19 girls), Hyderabad (36 boys and 25 girls), and Jacobabad (23 boys and 15 girls).
Sindh, which remains the second most HIV-affected province in Pakistan, reported 3,446 new HIV cases last year. These included 1,811 men, 813 women, 254 transgender persons, and 568 children. On average, 287 new HIV cases were reported every month in Sindh in 2024, including 48 children diagnosed monthly.
Infectious diseases experts blame poor Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) for the rising incidence of HIV among children, citing the reuse of syringes and IV drips by quacks and even some registered medical practitioners in rural Sindh as the major cause of transmission.
